Dog Behavior Opposite of Advertised, What do I do?

It sounds like you didn't have a Meet & Greet with the dog and its owner. I'm not sure why the weight and age thing are an issue because, even if the owner lied about these things, the dog falls into your preferences (up to 40 lbs and over 1 year). If you had a M&G, you would have found out all these things ahead of time as well as test the dog's interaction with your cat.

Unless you want to ruin your reputation with Rover by seeing if another sitter can take over, there's not much you can do. Leaving the dog in your home seems to be the best bet but you'll need to deal with the cat situation. Can you bring the cat to work in a carrier. I know, not fair to the cat(s), but you didn't prescreen.

Karen said it very well. Make sure you state in your profile that dogs would be taken And carried to work with you. You can explain in detail when you do the meet & greet. I am at 40lb limit But I state in my profile dogs Must be Under the 40lb limit. I suggest you look into gates in amazon.com for your work. I have a nice panel gate/fence that I can use to block off the hallway, make a circle enclosure, square, 2 rectangles, etc. It is very reasonably priced and comes in various heights. I use it for separating dogs during feeding. You should also, at work, have dog toys, kings and a jar of peanut butter to keep pups busy.

Also, I suggest you check out other rover sitters prices in your area. You don't need to be the highest rate, but you should Not be the lowest. Aim more for the middle to upper middle range. You are in a business and if your fees are to low that hurts other sitters around you.

If you just want to be around pups, I suggest you volunteer for a rescue org. They always need the help! Take it from a former foster pet parent, it is very rewarding.

I think we've all been there and had a dog that wasn't as described/expected/etc. You always have the option of contacting Rover support and asking them to find another sitter, but I would suggest you try to tough this out and use it as a learning situation!

First things first - find a way to keep the dog separate from your cats. I have purchased 2 collapsible crates and 2 fold-able gates/playpens to use for my business with Rover. You can keep the dog separate from the cats by baby-gating her into a bathroom or kitchen, or keep the cats separate by closing them in a bedroom. No it's not ideal, but it can be manageable for another couple days. Check Amazon for crates and gates (Amazon Warehouse has good deals!) as well as local garage sales, Craigslist, etc. You don't have to spend a fortune to be able to secure your home.

Second, add something to your profile about the dogs size and weight limits. I've had bulldogs that look small, but when you pick them up they are hefty! I would also suggest that you let owners know in one of your first messages that you can take their dog to work with you, but only if they are able to be carried and can behave in an office environment. Additionally, you can stress that the dog has to really be okay with cats because of your home's set up (not just "well we don't have one and he's never seen one except once in a while on our walks, so he'd probably be fine").

Finally, as all the others have said, make sure you do a meet and greet going forward. It's not worth your sanity for future bookings if you end up in a similar situation. It sucks that you had to have this experience, but hopefully you'll be better prepared next time!

Yup, Yup, Yup, agree with Karen - if you didn't have a M&G its mostly your fault as you had no idea what you were getting in to. Well, lesson learned - you should just suck it up and best of luck in the future